{"id":2458102,"date":"2025-07-10T16:48:58","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T20:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/abbott-revises-session-agenda-to-include-emergency-preparedness-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-07-10T16:54:44","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T20:54:44","slug":"abbott-revises-session-agenda-to-include-emergency-preparedness-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/abbott-revises-session-agenda-to-include-emergency-preparedness-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Abbott revises session agenda to include emergency preparedness &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fabbott-revises-session-agenda-to-include-emergency-preparedness-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2458102&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Texas Governor Greg Abbott has revised the agenda for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/update-letter-by-ted-cruz-and-6-gop-senators-and-4-senators-elect-sign-letter-to-reject-election-call-for-election-commission-10-day-emergency-audit-takes-place\/\" title=\"UPDATE: Letter by Ted Cruz and 6 GOP Senators and 4 Senators-Elect Sign Letter to Reject Election \u2013 Call For Election Commission 10-Day Emergency Audit Takes Place\">special legislative session<\/a> beginning July 21 to prioritize emergency preparedness following catastrophic flooding on July 4 that resulted in meaningful loss of life in the Texas Hill Country. The session, lasting 30 days with a possible extension, includes 18 legislative priorities. The foremost focus is on flood warning systems, emergency communications, relief funding for flood victims, and creating a natural disaster planning and recovery plan to improve statewide readiness.<\/p>\n<p>Additional priorities reflect Republican legislative goals such as eliminating the STAAR test,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/governor-abbott-calls-second-special-session-over-property-tax-reductions\/\" title=\"Governor ... calls second ... for property tax reductions.\">reducing property taxes<\/a>,and enacting further anti-abortion measures.Abbott also plans to ban taxpayer-funded lobbying and empower the attorney general to prosecute state election crimes.<\/p>\n<p>Several proposals respond to bills Abbott previously vetoed, including a plan to regulate hemp-derived products without legalizing marijuana. Other measures address protections for human trafficking victims, identity theft, water conservation in construction, judicial administration, congressional redistricting due to federal constitutional concerns, law enforcement privacy, and protections for women&#8217;s privacy in sex-segregated spaces.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Abbott revises session agenda to include emergency preparedness<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2171151\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square) &ndash; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/greg-abbott\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Gov. Greg Abbott <\/a>announced a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/natural-disasters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">new agenda<\/a> for a special legislative session to begin July 21.<\/p>\n<p>After the regular legislative session concluded in May, Abbott vetoed 26 bills and called a special session to address six legislative priorities, The Center Square&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/texas\/article_9f6e6fcc-cf78-4dda-90fb-2d9912bc830d.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/washington-secrets\/3468026\/silencer-sales-up-265-will-surge-under-big-beautiful-bill\/\">Silencer sales up 265%, will surge under &lsquo;big, beautiful bill&rsquo;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3467647\/jasmine-crockett-trump-racist-toward-liberian-president\/\">Jasmine Crockett accuses Trump of being &#8216;racist&#8217; toward Liberian President<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3467900\/doj-torches-disgruntled-leaker-targeting-emil-bove\/\">DOJ torches &#8216;disgruntled&#8217; leaker targeting Trump judicial nominee Emil Bove<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>After the historic July 4 flooding and catastrophic loss of life, he announced a revised session agenda that prioritizes emergency preparedness and many other issues.<\/p>\n<p>The session will convene at noon July 21 and last for 30 days with the possibility of being extended by another 30 days.<\/p>\n<p>In a two-page&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/gov.texas.gov\/uploads\/files\/press\/PROC_first_called_session_89th_legislature_FINAL_2pm_UNSIGNED_DRAFT_07-09-25.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">proclamation<\/a>, Abbott listed 18 legislative priorities. The first four are in direct response to the July 4 flash flood that caused catastrophic loss of life in the Texas Hill Country.<\/p>\n<p>The first legislative proposal would create a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-to-announce-60-million-in-hurricane-aid-for-puerto-rico\/\" title=\"Biden to Announce  Million in Hurricane Aid for Puerto Rico\">flood warning system<\/a> to improve early warning systems and other preparedness infrastructure in flood-prone areas statewide.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The second would create flood emergency communications to strengthen them and other response infrastructure in flood-prone areas statewide.<\/p>\n<p>The third would appropriate relief and recovery funding to assist Hill Country flood victims, including allocating local match funding for jurisdictions eligible for FEMA public assistance.<\/p>\n<p>The fourth would create a natural disaster preparation and recovery plan, including evaluating and streamlining rules and regulations to speed preparedness for and recovery from natural disasters.<\/p>\n<p>The priorities were added after federal and state warnings were issued ahead of massive storms but Kerr County officials didn&rsquo;t issue warnings or evacuation orders enabling residents and vacationers to move to higher ground or evacuate, The Center Square&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/texas\/article_14b9fbd9-398e-418e-9dc5-04370782cc38.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>. Travis County residents had&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/texas\/article_825ffc4b-5b64-46e0-a2ba-dbd9ce013b99.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">similar complaints<\/a>. Survivors argue had they been warned they would have evacuated.<\/p>\n<p>As of Thursday morning, 119 are confirmed dead in six counties and approximately 173 are confirmed missing in Kerr, Travis, Burnet and Williamson counties. Assuming all confirmed missing are recovered as deceased, the total number of deceased would reach nearly 300, the greatest number of people to die from a natural disaster in Texas in modern history.<\/p>\n<p>By comparison, 68 people died from Hurricane Harvey in the Houston area in 2017 from a historic 100-year flood event. The greatest loss of life in Texas was an estimated 8,000 people in the 1900 storm that devastated Galveston.<\/p>\n<p>Other agenda items include some that lawmakers requested be added. Many are Republican Party of Texas legislative priorities.<\/p>\n<p>They include eliminating the STAAR test and &ldquo;replacing it with effective tools to assess student progress and ensure school district accountability;&rdquo; reducing property taxes, after the legislature was criticized for not implementing meaningful property tax relief during the regular session; and another anti-abortion bill to protect &ldquo;unborn children and their mothers from the harm of abortion.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s unclear if this refers to banning abortion pills, a request made by many lawmakers, The Center Square&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/texas\/article_a7baec39-8273-4b50-a935-6db23cba87fb.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Abbott also added banning taxpayer-funded lobbying, including &ldquo;the use of tax dollars to hire lobbyists and payment of tax dollars to associations that lobby the Legislature;&rdquo; and proposed a constitutional amendment to allow the attorney general to prosecute state election crimes.<\/p>\n<p>Several agenda items relate to bills Abbott vetoed.<\/p>\n<p>This includes SB 3, a THC ban the legislature passed with bipartisan support, which was first on Abbott&rsquo;s initial list for the special session agenda. Abbott&rsquo;s proposal would&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/texas\/article_f71059dd-9407-4ffb-b5b7-bcb0ee056003.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">legalize marijuana<\/a>, making &ldquo;it a crime to provide hemp-derived products to children under 21 years of age,&rdquo; and would &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >comprehensively regulate hemp-derived products<\/a>, including limiting potency, restricting synthetically modified compounds, and establishing enforcement mechanisms, all without banning a lawful agricultural commodity.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The legislature overwhelmingly opposes legalizing marijuana. The Republican Party of Texas&rsquo; platform expressly prohibits legalization of drugs, including marijuana. One of Abbott&rsquo;s claims for vetoing the bill was rejected by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, The Center Square&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/texas\/article_f80c4276-02bc-4c66-9b65-8825cf02eb0a.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>After vetoing SB 1278, Abbott proposed protections for human trafficking victims from criminal liability for non-violent acts resulting from their trafficking. After vetoing SB 648, he proposed legislation strengthening protections against identity theft and deed fraud. After vetoing SB 1253, he proposed legislation reducing fees for builders that include water conservation and efficiency measures in their plans. After vetoing SB 2878, he proposed legislation related to state&rsquo;s judicial administration.<\/p>\n<p>He also added redistricting after the Trump administration&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/06\/09\/us\/politics\/trump-texas-redistricting.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">urged<\/a>&nbsp;Republican governors to do so. Abbott proposed revising Texas&rsquo; congressional redistricting plan due to &ldquo;constitutional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Other agenda items include a measure to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/west-virginia-republicans-want-to-crack-down-on-crime-by-allowing-death-penalty-for-people-who-kill-police\/\" title=\"West Virginia Republicans aim to deter crime by proposing death penalty for cop killers\">protect law enforcement officers<\/a> from public disclosure of unsubstantiated complaints in personnel files and a measure to protect women&rsquo;s privacy in sex-segregated spaces.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecentersquare.com%2Ftexas%2Farticle_dd839963-85c5-4d61-bf58-d62df31b4a94.html%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook%26utm_campaign%3Duser-share\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2171151\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2171151\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Abbott updates special session agenda to focus on emergency readiness<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2458103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/greg-abbott-texas-floods.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[3697,42710,58847],"class_list":["post-2458102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-abbott","tag-emergency-preparedness","tag-session-agenda"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/greg-abbott-texas-floods.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2458102"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2458106,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458102\/revisions\/2458106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2458103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2458102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2458102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2458102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}